


Unlikely Encounters

by chiefenjolras



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: spooky scary au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-19
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 17:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2477258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiefenjolras/pseuds/chiefenjolras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mad Scientist Ryan Haywood's monster, Gavin Free, gets a little bored and decides to take a walk in the forest. Along the way he meets a few unlikely people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unlikely Encounters

The scientist crushed the paper between his hands and lobbed it behind him. It bounced off the back wall and settled on a gurney in the back corner, alongside a few other crushed paper spheres. Failure, failure, failure. The words in his brain pulsed like this heart, beating themselves into a bloody pulp in his brain and tasting like bile in the back of his throat. The scientist buried his face in his hands and screamed into his palms. Failure, failure, failure. He wanted to gnash his teeth to the syllables and smash breakers to ease his fury.

It was pointless. The fury that lined the bones of his body would get him nowhere. His best work was done in calm and he wanted nothing more than to just leave his room, and furthermore, leave his house. He knew if he stepped outside the room he would be bombarded by his damned creation that threatened his sanity. It was like having a child around.

As if his thoughts were being projected out to the world there came a knocking at his study door. _Maybe if I ignore it he’ll go away._ The knocking only became more urgent and a voice began wailing from outside. Fuck. Ryan got up from his desk and stomped over to the door.

“RYAN!” The voice wailed and the scientist tore the door open.

“What. Do. You. Want.”

The scrawny man beamed up at the scientist, untaken aback by his tone and dark gaze.

“Just wanted to make sure you’re all tippy top. You’ve been locked in that room an awful long time now. I thought maybe we could grab a bite together and you could tell me what you’re working on!”

“You don’t even eat.”

“But you do.”

Ryan stared at the being in front of him and felt something like a mixture of relief…and annoyance. Yet, he nodded. “Sure.” He growled. Ryan knew he only wanted to help but Ryan’s stubborn mood clenched it’s teeth toward the notion.

“Top! I’ve made the sandwich and everything already.” The man scrambled down the hallway and Ryan followed begrudgingly.

 

Ryan bit into the sandwich, chewing it slowly.

“How is it?”

Ryan shrugged, “It’s okay, Gavin.” Truth be told, it was food, and that was always good, but he wasn’t about to compliment the annoying creation beside him and inflate the boys’ impossible ego anymore.

“So, what’re you working on this time?” Gavin asked, leaning closer toward Ryan.

“Research.” He answered, mid-chew.

“Huh? Are you gonna make me a friend?”

Ryan kept his eyes on his sandwich, “Why would I make another one of you?”

Gavin backed up a bit, his eyebrows drawing forward, “Why not? With you working all the time, it can get lonely. Besides, I turned out great! I’m sure the next one would be even better!”

“Don’t lie to yourself, boy, I’ve got more important things to take care of.” Ryan finished up the last bite of his sandwich and backed up from the kitchen counter. “Go outside and make a friend, there are plenty of other people around here. Just watch out for any villages. They don’t take to kindly to your kind.”

Gavin watched Ryan leave and sat in his seat for minutes afterward. Eventually he looked down and examined his stitched, mottled arms. _Is there something wrong with me?_ He shrugged and got up to clean up the kitchen. He scraped the crusts of Ryan’s sandwich into the trash and frowned at the untouched glass of milk before pouring it down the drain. It was a pain to see Ryan waste food but he couldn’t do anything about it.

When Gavin finished cleaning up the kitchen he slipped on a hoody Ryan had provided him and went outside for a walk. Gavin could never fathom why Ryan would want to live in this dreadful area. The house was on an island, as far as he could tell, and located near the cliff. From Gavin’s room he could see nothing but water and a faint outline of land in the distance. It was always cold and wet and the forest near the entrance of the house was thick and dark. No wonder Ryan was always in a bad mood, this place was awful.

Gavin hunched over, drawing his shoulders up and crossing his arms over his chest. He headed down the path into the woods, wondering about these “people” Ryan mentioned. He had never seen or heard anyone in the past few months he had been alive. Either way he hoped they were nice.

He squinted up at the sky and then around him. Somewhere on the path he had gotten distracted a squirrel with its cheeks full of nuts and when he chased after it he got lost. Ryan was going to kill him. If anybody ever found him. Oh, who was he kidding, Ryan probably didn’t know, or care, that he was gone.

AHWOOO!

Gavin squeaked and back up into a tree, wincing from broken branches digging into his back. “Hello!” He called out. “I’m lost if anybody wants to help, and not…” A hedge of tangled ivy in front of him rustled. He shrank down, “…eat me.” A long snout emerged from the ivy, breath steaming in the cold air, and clawed hands followed, shredding apart the greenery. Yellow eyes glowed in stark contrast against the dark ivy and the pink tongue that lolled out of the long snout.

That was when Gavin wailed and took off in the opposite direction. Bugger the thick forest, he could barely run without stumbling in a hole or over dead branches but he could hear it behind him and he wasn’t going to look back and potentially break off his teeth off against a tree.

“I’m all nasty parts! I won’t taste good! I’m all stringy!” He cried out, grasping at tree bark to stop from falling over as his foot slid in a muddy spot. He couldn’t get a good grip and instead fell to his knees to avoid doing the splits and unraveling. Bark splintered from behind him and Gavin covered his head with his arms, cowering down in the mud.

“Ray! Cut that out right now.” A low voice commanded and for a moment everything went silent.

Somebody whined and Gavin slowly uncurled himself, looking up. A tall, dark figure stood in front of him and Gavin squeaked again, putting his head down again, only looking at its feet. It smelled like soggy mud and looked as if it had just crawled out from the bottom of the swamp.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t get around other people very often.” The figure said. It stepped back and shook it’s body. Clumps of mud, clay and weed slid off of the figure. Gavin coughed at the smell of wet mud but managed to look up through his arms.

“Sorry to have scared you, buddy.” The figure smiled and offered a hand to Gavin, who tentatively took it and stood up. With all the mud and weeds gone the man wasn’t so scary. He was definitely taller than Gavin and had a great mess of a beard, orange, but mixed with green? That was when Gavin noticed the extra weeds and fins. Weeds were tangled among his beard, green scales splotching his face, and the fins were light green and webbed and laid flat against the side of his head.

Gavin decided he liked the man and smiled crookedly, shrugging. “S’okay. I’m Gavin.” He stuck his hand out and the stranger shook it.

“I’m Jack.”

Jack’s hand felt slightly slimy, Gavin realized, but he simply wiped his hand on his jeans and ignored it.

“And that’s Ray, who would like to give you a massive apology.”

Gavin could feel Jack burning a hole in the eyes of whoever was behind him. He turned slowly, afraid to see the clawed beast behind him but instead it was a normal man who only looked slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I thought you were one of the villagers looking to cause some trouble. I promise I won’t maul you now that I know that.”

“Err, thanks?” Gavin muttered.

“Yup, no problem, buddy!” Ray grinned, canines poking out from his mouth slightly.

“Okay, Ray.” Jack huffed. He placed a hand of Gavin’s shoulder. “What are you doing around these parts?” He asked Gavin.

Gavin turned toward him and sighed. “Got lost. I live up on the edge of the cliff and came down for a bit of a walk. I stopped to see where I was and that’s when Ray scared me. Sorry to have bothered you, but if you could help me find my way back, that’d be top.” He tried to smile but an uncontrollable shiver ran down his spine and he trembled. “Oh boy, I’m soaked.” He waved his sleeves, which were drenched in mud.

“Brrr! You’ll catch a cold out here like that.” Ray said. He grinned again and fur seemed to sprout from his skin and his features elongated till a furred beast was standing in the place of a man.

Despite that, Gavin could see the resemblance in the eyes but he couldn’t help but snort when Ray was done shifting. Watching the man shift made seeing the wolf less terrifying than before.

Ray’s shoulders dropped and his ears flattened down, “Hey, what’s so funny?” His voice was grittier than before and faintly Gavin could hear an animalistic growl underlying the main voice.

Gavin quickly covered his mouth to stop laughing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just so weird seeing a werewolf wearing a sweater and shorts.” He doubled over, cracking up with squealing laughter till even Jack had joined in.

“Hey! That’s not funny! Werewolves have dignity too! I can’t just walk around, my fur bare for everyone to see. I’m not an animal.” Ray bristled momentarily before turning and walking away.

“Ray, hold up!” Jack called after him. He grinned at Gavin, “C’mon, you should be able to fit into some of Michael’s clothes, we can’t send you home shivering.” Jack followed after Ray, as did Gavin.

 

When they entered the clearing Gavin was surprised by what he found. Considering Jack and Ray and the area they were in he expected huts of some sort, made of sticks, mud and leaves. Instead there were small cottages. They were made of brick and stone, had doors, windows, and each of them even had a chimney. They looked as if they had been made professionally.

“Wow. This is brilliant.” Gavin mused, looking around in awe.

“Yeah? Thanks, I built them myself.” Jack said, “Hey guys! Come on out!”

“Yourself? That’s bloody amazing!” Gavin wanted to say more but he froze as soon as some of the cottage doors swung open.

“Ugh, Jack, shut the hell up, I was trying to sleep. Oh! Who’s this?” The first man to stumble out of a cottage ambled over to Gavin.

He was sleepy looking with messy dark hair and an impecable handlebar mustache. His eyes were pitch black with red irises and he had black horns protruding from his skull with some sort of violet fire kindling between them. With an appearance like that normally anyone would have been terrified but the man’s sleepy eyes and lazy demeanor immediately put Gavin at ease.

“Geoff, meet Gavin. Ray chased him down and scared the poor kid half to death. I brought him here, figuring he could use a warm up before I take him home.”

Gavin tentatively stuck his hand out to Geoff but the demon simply pulled Gavin in, hooking an arm around his neck like they had known each other for years, and ruffled his hair.

“Hey Gav, I’m Geoff. I’m the resident demon ‘round these parts.” The demon paused and loosened his grip on Gavin, pulling the kid back so he could look at him. His brow furrowed and he tilted is head. “Hey, there’s something off about you.” He shook Gavin back and forth a few times and then leaned forward and sniffed him. Like a bloodhound on a scent Geoff’s eyes lightened up in recognition. “Wow. You’re fuckin’ weird, where’s your soul? You’re ticking but you don’t have any juice. Huh, that’s new.” He pulled Gavin against his side again.

Geoff looked over to Jack, “I like him, send him home? Let’s keep him around.”

“Geoff, we can’t keep him. Number one, he’s not a pet and number two, I’m sure whoever is at home is very worried about him.”

Gavin sighed halfheartedly, “I doubt it.” He wiggled out of Geoff’s grasp and found himself backing up into somebody. “Whoops! Sorry!” He spun around and began to back up again. The person grabbed his wrist and tried to tug him back. That’s when Gavin’s arm unraveled and fell off.

Everybody around him froze, as did Gavin. He looked from his limbless shoulder to the man holding the limb.

“What the fuck.” The man said in wonder, shaking the limb slightly. The hand flopped back and forth.

Gavin began to gag. He couldn’t help it. No matter how many times his body started falling apart it always shocked and grossed him out. He had such a weak stomach for a guy who never had to eat. He doubled over, coughing and retching.

“For the love of God, get that out of here!” He shouted between bouts of coughing, waving the group away with his remaining arm _. It’s okay. It’s okay. You can be stitched up. Get a hold yourself, you bloody idiot._

“Christ, Michael. Drop the arm!” Jack shouted.

“Holy shit, should we give him a hand? Hah!” Geoff cracked.

“I turn around for two minutes and you rip the poor guys arm off. Man, I miss everything!” Ray whined.

Gavin felt Jack’s slimy hand of his shoulder and he waved him off as well.

“I’ll be okay,” He choked out. “Just gimme a moment.”

Eventually Gavin found his stomach settling down and he could finally straighten up. “I’m okay. Wow, that’s embarrassing.” He wiped at his streaming eyes.

“Dude, I’m really sorry about that.” Another person walked up to him, the same one who had…unraveled him. The guy was pretty normal looking compared to the rest of the group.

“No, it happens all the time, honestly. Just can’t get use to it, that’s all. I’m a big baby.” Gavin laughed and the other one, Michael, seemed to lighten up a bit.

“Yeah? That was pretty cool though, I’ve never seen something that before, and look what I live with!” He laughed and slapped Gavin on the back. “Come on inside, Jack mentioned you needed to borrow some of my stuff.” He beckoned Gavin to follow him back to one of the cottages.

 

Gavin felt much better once he was in some dry clothes and in front of a small fire. The cottage was a perfect size for a bed, a desk, a fireplace and maybe one other thing depending on the person. In Michael’s cottage it was a TV.

It was cozy, but a little too cozy with everybody piled into one small house. Gavin wasn’t about to complain though. It was more contact than he had ever gotten before in his, admittedly short, life. All good things must come to an end though.

He was dozing off against Ray’s furry shoulder when Geoff began to shake him softly.

“Hey buddy, it’s getting dark and we should get you home.”

Gavin yawned and nodded, “Uhh, okay.” He rubbed his eyes with his only available arm and got up.

“See you later, Gav. Come see us again.” Geoff ruffled Gavin’s hair again and sent him outside where Jack was waiting.

Outside Jack stood in the center area, something wrapped in a bundle in his arms. As Gavin stumbled up to him Jack held it out.

“We can’t have you forgetting your arm. It’s all wrapped up for you and ready to go.”

Still sleepy, Gavin took it and clutched it his chest like a child with a teddy bear. “It’s weird only having one arm, I’m glad this didn’t get lost.” He yawned again and Jack laughed. When Jack laughed the fins against his head wiggled, slapping against the side of his head and the sound would have made Gavin giggle if he hadn’t just woken up. He followed Jack away from the cottages and through the woods.

“Thanks for helping me out, Jack. I really ’preciate it. I doubt anyone would have found me if you hadn’t.”

Jack glanced back at him, “No problem. What about that guy you live with on the cliff? I’m sure he’s worried by now.”

“Ryan? No way, he’s too busy with his experiments. Probably doesn’t even know I’m gone. Besides, he told me to go make friends, how can I get in trouble for listening to him?”

“Ryan? Huh.” Jack shrugged, “I suppose you’re right. Well, I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear you’ve found some friends. Oh, is this it?”

They were coming up to the pathway that led to the house and Gavin was surprised to find himself a little disappointed.

“Oh, well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you, Jack.”

“Feel free to drop by anytime, Gavin. We had fun and it’s always good to see a new face around here.” He patted Gavin on the back and turned to head back into the woods. “Hey, don’t let Ryan get you down too much, you’re a good kid.”

Gavin looked back to watch him walk away and nodded, more as reassurance to himself than anything else. Y _eah, I am a good kid._

Clutching his arm to his side Gavin took a deep breath and headed up the path to his home, hoping dearly that Ryan was still either locked in his room or asleep.

 

“Gavin! Where have you been? Where is your arm? Christ, is that it? Oh my God what have you been doing?”

“Whoops. Sorry, Ryan.”

**Author's Note:**

> All credit for the spooky scary au stuff goes to padalickingood.tumblr.com!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it. I'll probably write more for this in the near future because I love the concept, but also, if you'd like to read more let me know!


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